The IMF has just released a working paper setting out work on developing a public investment management index.
The index makes use of already available information, including PEFA assessments, to score countries against 17 core components of an effective PIM system organised by four sub-processes:
- Strategic guidance and project appraisal
Project selection and budgeting
Project implementation
Project evaluation and audit
There are 71 countries in the sample, both low income and middle income. You may want to see if a country you know is covered and see if the index is broadly consistent with your experience.
I have worked on PIM in Moldova and I was surprised to see the country scoring so well. Part of the reason might be an over-reliance on PEFA assessments for building the index: Moldova performs reasonably well on PEFA criteria, but is weaker when you drill down on specific PIM issues (unless things have changed for the better in the last couple of years). The same might be the case in Brazil: a recent World Bank assessment of PIM in Brazil finds the process to be relatively weak on a number of fronts which are not so well reflected in PEFA (where Brazil performs rather well.)
It would be interesting to hear of any other perspectives.
